RJK's Bottle City updates • Page 7 • Collecting General • The Acaeum

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

RJK's Bottle City updates
	Page 7 of 48 • 1 2 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 46 47 48

Author

Jaybird216
Prolific Collector

Posts: 125
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Last Visit: Mar 18, 2015
Location: The basement of the Alamo

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:01 pm

DCS is Dave Smith. He runs (ran?) the PPP website, more as a favor to Rob than anything else. I'm Jason Braun, I'm a freelancer who did art & layout for Cairn of the Skeleton King, Tower of Blood and Bottle City. After completing Bottle City in August, I resigned my position over monetary/communication issues (surprise surprise). Grodog is Allan. He's the editor and an all-around nice guy. I like to think of him as the Mouth of Sauron, only not evil. But Rob's the man with the plan. If he's out of commission (for whatever reason), nothing gets done. Like I said, he's the only one in Milwaukee, where all of the printing/collating/mailing takes place. He handles all of the orders and writes (and receives) all of the checks. The rest of us worked remotely from various parts of the USA.

Jason Braun
Art Monkey for Hire
http://www.jasonbraun.com
_______________________
No animals were harmed during the posting of this message,

Deogolf
Prolific Collector

Posts: 321
Joined: Apr 07, 2006
Last Visit: Apr 02, 2018

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 8:40 pm

Jaybird216 wrote:DCS is Dave Smith. He runs (ran?) the PPP website, more as a favor to Rob than anything else. I'm Jason Braun, I'm a freelancer who did art & layout for Cairn of the Skeleton King, Tower of Blood and Bottle City. After completing Bottle City in August, I resigned my position over monetary/communication issues (surprise surprise). Grodog is Allan. He's the editor and an all-around nice guy. I like to think of him as the Mouth of Sauron, only not evil. But Rob's the man with the plan. If he's out of commission (for whatever reason), nothing gets done. Like I said, he's the only one in Milwaukee, where all of the printing/collating/mailing takes place. He handles all of the orders and writes (and receives) all of the checks. The rest of us worked remotely from various parts of the USA.

Hi guys! I'm John (starting to sound like an AA meeting).

I have helped Rob over the last couple of years with spreading the word about PPP products, eBay sales, etc. for the first three modules (Skeleton King, Tower, and The Living Room).

I do live in Milwaukee and did talk to/see Rob a few weeks back. At that time I did offer my services to help out. He wanted to wait a bit due to things he didn't elaborate on (can't offer any ideas what). He didn't look too hot at that time. I can only speculate on what's going on and won't add anything here. I only hope the best for him and will wait to see what happens.

Eulaliaaa!!!

NetRodent
Prolific Collector

Posts: 636
Joined: Sep 14, 2005
Last Visit: Jan 16, 2009
Location: Montreal, Canada

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:13 pm

The message board is still up, but nothing new has been posted.
http://p085.ezboard.com/Pied-Piper-Publ ... publishing

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
--H.L. Mencken

copycat
Sage Collector

Posts: 2736
Joined: May 31, 2007
Last Visit: Mar 22, 2021

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:32 pm

Unless you missed this...

Those who can, don't. Those who should not, do.

grodog
Grandstanding Collector

Posts: 5834
Joined: Nov 16, 2002
Last Visit: May 01, 2024
Location: Wichita, KS, USA

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:37 pm

Rob had what he described to me as allergy problems at both LGGC and at GenCon; I was more worried about him at/after GenCon, because the allergies were wiping him out: I figured it was more, and that he wasn't taking care of himself as well as he ideally could/should be, but didn't certainly think it was pneumonia.

I'm rather horrified to hear about what pneumonia can do to someone when it's untreated for awhile, which it sounds like it was (by my hunches, likely most of the summer).

To confirm/reiterate some of Jason's info: yes, Rob runs PPP and is its sole employee/proprietor/owner. The books were printed locally because Rob got good deals on the printing, and doing so would allow him to pickup books locally (further saving on shipping charges).

As for Rob's not having medical treatment: medical treatment in general isn't cheap when you have no medical insurance. PPP is not and has never been a big money-maker for Rob (even when you toss in the auctions).

Anyway, that's what I know and all I'm likely to find out until/if Rob tells me (or someone else) more. I'll call him again tomorrow to see if he has any further updates.

Allan Grohe ([email protected])
Greyhawk, grodog Style

Editor and Project Manager, Black Blade Publishing
https://www.facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing/

jasonw1239
Verbose Collector
JG Valuation Board

Posts: 1670
Joined: Jul 01, 2006
Last Visit: Apr 25, 2024
Location: Moncton, NB Canada

Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:51 pm

To once again emphasize how important it is to treat a sickness such as that,

I lost a friend last year to something similar.

She had been a very healthy young woman in her twenties who would not let her boyfriend take her to the hospital figuring it was just a bad cold.

When breathing became too difficult she finally went to the hospital and within hours her boyfriend was told by the doctors that she was not going to make it and there was nothing they could do.

I know there is no free health care in the US and supplemental coverage (even in Canada for prescriptions, dental, etc.) can be brutally expensive especially if you are self-employed. However...if you weigh going into debt against dying...I know which one I would choose.

Check out my Chaosium sourcebook.
Secrets of Tibet

Jaybird216
Prolific Collector

Posts: 125
Joined: Aug 26, 2006
Last Visit: Mar 18, 2015
Location: The basement of the Alamo

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:28 am

I think we can all agree that we wish him our best for a full recovery.

Jason Braun
Art Monkey for Hire
http://www.jasonbraun.com
_______________________
No animals were harmed during the posting of this message,

FormCritic
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 6720
Joined: Jul 16, 2005
Last Visit: Sep 30, 2022

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 1:43 am

jasonw1239 wrote:To once again emphasize how important it is to treat a sickness such as that,

I lost a friend last year to something similar.

She had been a very healthy young woman in her twenties who would not let her boyfriend take her to the hospital figuring it was just a bad cold.

When breathing became too difficult she finally went to the hospital and within hours her boyfriend was told by the doctors that she was not going to make it and there was nothing they could do.

I know there is no free health care in the US and supplemental coverage (even in Canada for prescriptions, dental, etc.) can be brutally expensive especially if you are self-employed. However...if you weigh going into debt against dying...I know which one I would choose.

Thing is, there is free healthcare in the US.

Hospitals provide free care all of the time and there are state and federal healthcare systems...including ones that cover serious illnesses for those who cannot pay.

The idea that the poor in America just die off is a myth.

"But I have watched the dragons come, fire-eyed, across the world."

sauromatian
Sage Collector

Posts: 2554
Joined: Jul 25, 2007
Last Visit: Jan 06, 2024
Location: Far Harad, Texas

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 6:05 am

FormCritic wrote:Hospitals provide free care all of the time and there are state and federal healthcare systems...including ones that cover serious illnesses for those who cannot pay.

With the added irony that emergency rooms often take the poor for non-emergencies. Expensive facilities are wasted; using the funds for simple clinics would be more practical & efficient. Lots of people are underinsured to the point that it's easier for them to go to an emergency room when sick, than to find the right doctor who'll accept the plan, wait for an appointment, & make the co-payments. The whole medical industry seems geared to waste as much money as possible, almost resembling a dystopian communist bureaucracy rather than a market industry. Maybe they figure if they keep quality care expensive for everyone, enough of us will cough up the dollars to be profitable for them. Emergency room service for all is the classic dope-pushers' tactic wherein the first hit is free.

Gnat the Beggar
Grandstanding Collector
JG Valuation Board
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 5029
Joined: Oct 11, 2004
Last Visit: Jan 16, 2017
Location: Texas

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 8:36 am

serleran wrote:Unless you missed this...

That link was posted by Grodog (Allan) on page 5 of this thread.

Thanks to Allan and Jason for all the information. It really does help those of us who are not in the loop to know more of the situation.

Some of us assumed it was a bit larger company than just Rob. I figured at least a couple of full time employees myself, hence my failure to understand any further delays in shipping, ect.

"Guys, I am starting to think Tegel Manor might be haunted..."
Stated by me as a PC during a run of Tegel Manor DMed by killjoy at NTRPGCon 2010

Charter Member of the ATM

Last edited by Gnat the Beggar on Thu Jan 03, 2008 9:23 am, edited 1 time in total.

Badmike
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 8030
Joined: Jun 23, 2003
Last Visit: May 02, 2024
Location: DFW TX

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:47 am

Just to recap....

I'm not necessarily bagging on Rob. Circumstances beyond his control and all, especially if it's an illness (or pneumonia) that has laid him out a few months.

If Rob is truly this ill, I feel very sorry from him, because from my first hand research and dealing with the effects of pneumonia on a loved one, it is a disease that leaves premanent effects..mostly, as Deadlord pointed out, lung scarring that will forever effect your breathing. After ONE month of pneumonia, I was told by the hospital where my father was at that he would have a good chance of never being able to breathe on his own again. At Rob's age, and the amount of time it's lasted, I just don't see any full recovery at this stage, from an observers viewpoint. In this case, why Rob is turning down help is very puzzling, but often those who are older, and sick, don't realize the extent of their illness, or mental faculties may not be up to standard.

However, if Rob is NOT truly this ill, and the issues are financial...well, he simply needs to come clean at this point. Most of the gaming community would allow him time to scrape up the funds necessary to ship out the items by cheapest possible post, if it meant getting the items. Rob apparantly has a track record in the industry of not paying people who donate time and work to him..brutal, I know, but true. I think a lot of people have allowed him to "get away with it" based on his rep, and respect for what he has done for the hobby. Thus, suspiciously the non-shipping of Bottle City could be seen to fit into a pattern of abusing the trust placed with him....I really, really hope this is not the case.

If it turns out Rob is sick with pneumonia, which basically means at this point he's pretty much not going to get fully better, I wish at least a partial recovery and implore him to avail himself of the assistance some people here have offered, it is not weakness to admit you cannot complete a project if you are too physically ill to do so.

If it turns out Rob is NOT deathly ill, and the problems are financial, and he does not contact all his subscribers/buyers and come clean...

As a person who takes very seriously his online "business" of reselling used game items, as some may have noted, I am very sensitive to those such as Cougarrinard or JonB or anyone who decides to give the hobby a bad name by screwing customers, as this reflects on my own business and may lead to reduced sales for me...money out of my pocket so to speak. I would hate to move Rob to that list.

Those who have contact with him at this point, might point out the seriousness of the delay of shipping Bottle City to his reputation, and perhaps he might be more amenable to accepting help becasue of this.

Once again, I wish the best to Rob, and hope he is able to recover as best he can from his problems, be they health or otherwise.

Mike B.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
NTRPGCON

Last edited by Badmike on Mon Jan 31, 2011 11:08 am, edited 1 time in total.

killjoy32
Grandstanding Collector

Posts: 8241
Joined: Jan 21, 2005
Last Visit: Mar 24, 2024
Location: Wallasey, Merseyside, UK

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 10:48 am

without getting involved in this discussion really (my own choice), the responsibility to a customer who has paid, whether you are 1 person or 100 people, is still the same.

there are plenty of folk who offer to help, i cant understand why the help isnt taken? at least then you stop anyone spiralling out of control with opinion and negating future sales with them.

Al

Are we nearly there yet?

bombadil
Long-Winded Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 3807
Joined: Feb 23, 2005
Last Visit: Oct 10, 2023

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:05 pm

Obviously Rob is quite ill, maybe even beyond ill at this point. I'm not concerned at all about whether I receive my copies or not. If it's within Rob's abilities at this point to make sure they get shipped, then they will. If not, then who cares about a damned limited edition module when a guy's life is on the line?

Good luck, Rob. And thanks for the updates, Allan and Deogolf.

Let mirth prevail!

Badmike
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 8030
Joined: Jun 23, 2003
Last Visit: May 02, 2024
Location: DFW TX

Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 3:11 pm

bombadil wrote:Obviously Rob is quite ill, maybe even beyond ill at this point. I'm not concerned at all about whether I receive my copies or not. If it's within Rob's abilities at this point to make sure they get shipped, then they will. If not, then who cares about a damned limited edition module when a guy's life is on the line?

Good luck, Rob. And thanks for the updates, Allan and Deogolf.

IF Rob is deathly ill, then I wish him a fast recovery. And I would still like to receive my fully paid for copies of Bottle City in the future.....these two things are not mutually exclusive no matter what the circumstances.

Why is Rob still turning away assistance at this point?

Mike B.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
NTRPGCON

NetRodent
Prolific Collector

Posts: 636
Joined: Sep 14, 2005
Last Visit: Jan 16, 2009
Location: Montreal, Canada

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 11:43 am

This post of Gary's might shed a bit of light on the situation.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt ... &start=434

"Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats."
--H.L. Mencken

Badmike
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 8030
Joined: Jun 23, 2003
Last Visit: May 02, 2024
Location: DFW TX

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 12:18 pm

NetRodent wrote:This post of Gary's might shed a bit of light on the situation.
http://www.dragonsfoot.org/forums/viewt ... &start=434

Thanks for the link, Net. Another unfortunate piece of the puzzle, it seems.

It might be too soon to start mentioning the words no one wants to hear...but the clock is ticking.

Mike B.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
NTRPGCON

grodog
Grandstanding Collector

Posts: 5834
Joined: Nov 16, 2002
Last Visit: May 01, 2024
Location: Wichita, KS, USA

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:18 pm

That's old news

The TLG blog speaks to this in some detail @ http://trolldens.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

Allan Grohe ([email protected])
Greyhawk, grodog Style

Editor and Project Manager, Black Blade Publishing
https://www.facebook.com/BlackBladePublishing/

Badmike
Grandstanding Collector
Acaeum Donor

Posts: 8030
Joined: Jun 23, 2003
Last Visit: May 02, 2024
Location: DFW TX

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 3:29 pm

grodog wrote:That's old news The TLG blog speaks to this in some detail @ http://trolldens.blogspot.com/2006_08_01_archive.html

The item from Gary was as follows:

Posted: Sat Dec 29, 2007 9:38 am Post subject:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Time to answer a real question!

As a matter of fact, Rob Kuntz and I have parted company since he reneged on his agreement to co-develop the Castle Zagyg campaign project material, doing so in a most ungentlemanly manner. I was taken aback at that since he originally approached me to do the work and then agreed to terms set forth in a written agreement, accepted an advance payment.

All I can assume is that he is going through some rough personal times.

Of course I could convince neither of my two older sons to assist me in the project, but nontheless it is now going forward full bore.

Happy New Year,
Gary

The announcement from TLG sounds very formal and vague, while Gary's explanation appears more personal and off the cuff. I'm sure the truth lies somewhere in between. I don't want to point to this as proof Rob is a "bad" person because I know from insiders EGG is a hard man to work with sometimes. But I still believe it shows a certain pattern of behavior that is germane to events here and now.

Mike B.

"THE MORE YOU THINK ABOUT WHY i DONE WHAT i DONE THE MORE i LAUGH" Cougar
"The Acaeum hates fun" Sir Allen
"I had a collecting emergency" Nogrod
Co-founder of the North Texas RPG Con
NTRPGCON

The Acaeum Forums • Collecting General

Page 7 of 48 • 1 2 3 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 ... 46 47 48